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A settlement has been proposed in a class action lawsuit alleging Belford High School, Belford University and other co-conspirators engaged in a scam to dupe people into paying to receive high school diplomas from schools that don’t really exist.
If you obtained a Belford High School diploma at any time between Jan. 1, 2003 and Jan. 23, 2012, you may be entitled to payment from the Belford scam class action settlement.
The Belford High School class action lawsuit was filed on Nov. 5, 2009 and alleged that the Belford defendants perpetrated an internet scam in order to defraud prospective students out of their money. The plaintiffs claim Belford High School offers a “valid” and “accredited” high school diploma, but that in reality, the diplomas are not valid because the school is fake.
The plaintiffs allege that Belford claimed to be accredited by the International Accreditation Agency for Online Universities and the Universal Council for Online Education Accreditation, but that these entities are also fake.
In August 2012, Belford High School, Belford University and other co-conspirators were ordered to pay $22.7 million to more than 30,000 victims of their scam. The court found that Belford High School and Belford University are fake schools.
Belford reportedly admitted that it never had any administrators or employees, that the accrediting agencies are fake, and that the names of faculty and administrators posted on the diplomas were also fake.
After the judgment was entered, the plaintiffs’ attorneys attempted to find money from the defendants in order to pay the victims of the Belford scam. They reportedly located money in accounts who were held in the names of Pitko Inc., Tullow Inc., Mivvel Inc., Lateral Designs Inc., IT Device Pro Inc. and Payment Profs Inc., and they believed this money actually belonged to Belford High School. The attorneys subsequently sought to recover the money from these defendants.
The defendants disagree that the plaintiffs would have won at trial but agreed to settle the diploma scam class action lawsuit to avoid the burden and expense of ongoing litigation.
According to the Belford class action settlement website, the Belford defendants have been ordered to stop using the scam websites associated with their deception, including www.BelfordHighSchool.com, www.BelfordHighSchool.org, www.BelfordUniversity.org and www.BelfordUniversity.com. These websites have reportedly been taken down so that no further consumers are subjected to the fraud.
Who’s Eligible
Class Members of the diploma scam settlement include U.S. residents who obtained a Belford High School diploma at any time from Jan. 1, 2003 to Jan. 23, 2012.
Potential Award
Varies, depending on the total number of valid claims that are filed and how much money Class Members spent in connection with the Belford High School diploma.
The maximum payment that a Class Member may receive is the amount they paid in connection with their Belford High School diploma. However, the Claims Administrator will determine individual payments based on the number of total claims filed and the amount of money the Class Members spent.
Proof of Purchase
Class Members must submit a copy of their Belford High School diploma, or evidence explaining why they are unable to submit a copy of the diploma.
Claim Form Deadline
6/12/2017
Case Name
Lauber, et al. v. Belford High School, et al., Case No. 4:09-cv-14345, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan
Final Hearing
7/10/2017
Settlement Website
Claims Administrator
Belford Class Action
PO Box 6878
Broomfield, CO 80021
(844) 320-4304
BelfordClassAction@Googasian.com
Class Counsel
Thomas Howlett
Dean Googasian
THE GOOGASIAN FIRM PC
Defense Counsel
Todd Holleman
MILLER CANFIELD
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175 thoughts onBelford High School Diploma Scam Class Action Settlement
I just saw this as well I got a diploma with them in 2007. I can’t believe how fraudulent this is. Could I be able still file for a claim.
Same here i just seen this now.
Damn that mess up
I got mine too and when i wanted to start college i found out it was not a valid document and bellford high school wasn’t accredited..so upset spent my money on trash and gave it for free to people who doesn’t have any good intention
Same here i did mine in 2007 i think what can i do
Thats crazy now I gotta go back to school and do it all over again cause I got a diploma from belford and I cant even get my money back thats crazy.just hearing about this now is very upsetting.
same here just found out about it so pissed off their’s got to be something we can do.
I’m just hearing about this settlement and I do have a diploma from Belford and I’m highly upset what can be done about this case and does anybody have a contact number if anybody knows who to contact please email me at macjay474@gmail.com
Hello I’m just hearing about this and the deadline is over. I got my diploma back in 08 and I has helped me get jobs but I don’t think they ran my transcript. Because I had a federal job tell me my Diploma wasn’t accredited and it broke my heart to pieces! All these years I had this diploma and it never did me any good. What can I do about this, wonder can somebody be sued ? This is playing with my kids food etc
You can try contacting class counsel with your questions. Counsel is listed in this article and on the settlement website and can be Googled for contact information.
Am just hearing About this to I got mines 2009
This is beyond sad I received my HS diploma from Belford HS back in 2010, I was just signing up to start collage with in the next folling week and one of the representative followed back up with me and told me that my HS diploma wasn’t accredited HS and also she informed me to take a look online because it stated that the HS has a lawsuit against them. So she advised me to take a look into it, I did and sure enough it was. I just contacted someone from the claim department and the lady told me yes it was a lawsuit against them and she stated that they contacted “EVERYONE ” that got a HS diploma during that time frame and I told her they couldn’t have contacted EVERYONE because that the reason why I’m calling her response was “WELL I DON’T KNOW WHAT TO TELL YOU BUT THE SCHOOL HAS A LAWSUIT AND THE DIPLOMA ISN’T REAL AND THE DEADLINE WAS OVER BACK IN JULY OF 2017, So I asked is there someone else I can talk to she stated “they going to tell you the same thing” and she hung the phone up?. This is beyond sad, just wanted to know is there any way I can get my money back.
im just now finding out about this all today as the college i was going to sent me my GED transcript and now i have $23,000 to pay back to a college that accepted the GED.
You can try contacting class counsel with your questions. Counsel is listed in this article and on the settlement website and can be Googled for contact information.
I also received a High School Diploma from them and i just had a meeting with my counselor from college and it was said that my diploma was not from a accredited school. I just seen this post today. What are the steps to be compensated for this?
I have a “diploma through them…I just seen this!! Wtf?
I have a diploma through them I just seen this what can do if the deadline ended.
You can try contacting class counsel with your questions. Counsel is listed at the bottom of the article and can be Googled for contact information.
I JUST HEARD ABOUT THIS. WHAT DO WE DO IF WE MISSED THE DEADLINE.
Did anyone find out wat u can do I got mines in 2009 and I cant use it either
Did u get any information on wat to do